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Crossing Waters

Crossing Waters is a cultural reimagination film showcasing first-generation Filipino-Canadian dancers performing contemporized Philippine dance on Scarborough Bluffs beach located in Ontario. The film depicts Pangalay, the fingernail dance performed by communities in the Sulu Archipelago in the southern Philippines. The movements are slow and meditative, imitating the Sulu Sea combined with modern hip hop music and street dance styles. This film aims to connect Pangalay across the Canadian Filipino diaspora utilizing themes of nature, meditation, grounding, and slowness. We hope this film sheds light on Filipino culture in the Canadian dance space.

  • Candace Kumar
    Creative Direction and Choreography
  • Diana Reyes
    Assistant Choreography
  • Faye Roncesvalles
    Assistant Choreography
  • Candace Kumar
    Cast
  • Diana Reyes
    Cast
  • Faye Roncesvalles
    Cast
  • Lex Junior
    Music Composition
  • Ghillian Simon
    Cinematography
  • Folklorico Filipino Canada
    Attire
  • Kim Requesto
    Artistic Consultants
  • Eric Solano
    Artistic Consultants
  • Sitti Obeso
    Artistic Consultants
  • Guelph Dance
    Co-Produced
  • Project Type:
    Short, Web / New Media, Other
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 49 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 15, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:0
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Guelph Dance: Screen Dance Series
    Guelph, Ontario
    Canada
    April 29, 2022
    Worldwide
    Curated Selection
Director Biography

Candace Kumar is a Filipino/Indo-Fijian dance artist based in Toronto.
Her work aims to contemporize cultural dance forms to reimagine traditional culture from the diaspora. She believes traditional dance is not an art form of the past but can guide us through the future as we navigate life on land that is not our ancestral home. Some of her notable performances include the 2015 Pan Am Games, Nuit Blanche, SummerWorks Festival, and international festivals in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Mexico, Alaska, and the Czech Republic. Candace has worked with Little Pear Garden Dance Company, Nova Dance, Anandam Dance Theatre, Creativiva Entertainment and more. She shares her experience as a mixed-Asian Canadian artist in hopes of inspiring other artists to explore their relationship to their culture through dance.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Dance is how I navigate my identity as a mixed Asian artist residing on Turtle Island. Not being able to speak my parents' language, dance is how I express love for my culture. I found Pangalay in 2018, fascinated by the calmness it evoked in me. It re-established my connection to the natural world, reshaping how I see dance as a lifestyle practice. Crossing Waters symbolizes both the journey Filipino immigrants take to Canada and Filipino diasporic artists like myself reaching across the ocean to learn more about the motherland. I created this film to express my appreciation for Pangalay culture on the land that has given me life, recognizing my place as a settler on stolen land. I hope this film brings calmness and slowness for a few moments.